Cordless ankle-joint



M. E. RICE.

CORDLESS ANKLE JOINT.

Patented 11m@ 28, 1921.

'PATENT OFFlC.

UNITED STATES MIL@ E. nien, or nnnsns CITY, iu'rssonrtr.

CORDLESS ANKLE-JONT.

Application filed April 3G, 1920. Serial No. 37?,98l.

To (rf/Z Grimm' t Wmje/` conce/vi:

Be it known that I, Mino E. Bion, a citizen of the United States, and resident of liansas City, in the county olf Jackson and State of `lllissouri, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Cordless Ankle- Joints, of which the following` is a complete specification.

The present invention relates to ankle joints of the character used in 'the construction et artilicial limbs, and aims to provide an improved form of connection between the toot and leg portion of artificial legs, one special object oi the invention being to pro vide a practically noiseless joint construction having ample bearing' surfaces at the pivotal point of the joint, with suitable provision Ylor preventing any tendency toward relatively lateral shitting; movement between the connections.

lt is also sought to devise an improved construction in which provision is made 'tor a lubricant chamber within the joint ior maintaining' a supply ol lubricant sufficient for thoroughly oilin;` the parts.

lt is further sought 'to provide a construe "tion o't' the character described in which the parts oi' the joint may be readily and conveniently assembled, or taken apart when necessary, one of the special 'features oi the joint structure being in the use oi a pair oit ro-axial sleeves journaled one inside the other and respectively provided with means for securino' the same to the toot and leg; por tions ot' the limb.

lt is 'further sought to provide a construction iomprisingg' relatively iiew parts compactly arranged and yet a'libifililreall the necessary smoothness and evenncss ol" operation in the movements oi the joint, and which will also bc comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

71ffith i the foregoing general objects in view, the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanyingg` drawing illustrating;l one form oiE embodiment o' the improvement, after which the novel features therein will be j )articularly set :torth and claimed.

ln the drawing:

Figure l is a partlv sectional elevation illustrating' a joint structure embodying' the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line indicated by the broken line 2-2 et Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view showingl the connect ing men'ibers ot the joint, removed from the limb members.

Referring' to the said drawing4 in detail, this illustrates the iniprov'ecL joint construe tion in connection with the toot member (3 and the leg; member 7 oit' an artiiicial legi', the leg member "l," being designed to be mounted in pivotally coimected'relation to the i'oot member as illustrated in Fig. l, with the end oi said legi' member T abutting again st a pair or elastic imiter elements d and 9 at opposite sides.. respectively, of the pi"- otal connection between said members 6 and '7, that is, to the lfront and rear, respeetively, of said pivotal connection or joint. lin the present construction, the joint connecting the said members G and 'T comprises a pair ot efe-axially arranged sleeves 'l0 and ll, arranged with the sleeve ll fitting* within the sleeve l0, the ends ell the latter sleeve er; tending' flush with the side faces ol' the toot member G. rEhe sleeve It() is provided with a bolt element l2, which may be termed integral with said sleeve or be shrunk the-reto, said bolt element beingextended een trally through the leg member l', which is provided with a bore or passage l-l Jfor aceommodating' t ie element l2. the latter being termed with a terminal threatL :for receivingr a pair of jam nuts l5 for iiiedly sefuringr the bolt element il to the member i, the said nuts l5 being' clamped tight against the bot tom ot a recess l@ within the legi` member T.

similar connection is made between the inner sleeve ll and the toot member (3 ot the limb, this connection taliiml the form ot a bolt element 1T which is termed with a circular head portion lil having' au eye or opening' El oii a diometer correspondinif to the diameter' oi the sleeve ll and encircling' the same, the said head portion lil beine` accomA moda'ted wit-hin a transverse recess it) formed in the miiilportion ot the' exterior sleeve l0., as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. The bolt element l? is secured rigidly to the sleeve ll by means oit a ltey 2() accommodated within a leyway iforined in the exterior of the sleeve ll and sweat into a recess 22 on the interior oi the eye or opening Q41 ot the head portion of the bolt l?, as illustrated in Figs. l and 2. rlhe keyway 2l extends longitudinally from one end ot the sleeve ll and slightly more than halt' the length of the said sleeve, as shown in Fig. 2.

Screw plugs 25 are fitted into the opposite ends of the sleeve 10 into abutment with the opposite ends ot the sleeve 11 for the purpose both of retaining said sleeve 11 and of sealing the space Within lsaid sleeve, whereby a lubricant chamber for hard oil is provided for maintaining a supply of lubricant which nds its way to those relatively moving parts or surfaces which may require a certainamount of oiling' for reducing the Vfriction.

The lower end oi the bolt 17 is also provided with a suitable thread for the application or' a nut 26, which is countersunk within a recess 2T in the lower or tread face of the toot member 6, whereby the latter is securely connected with the joint structure. The inner or upper face Vof the nut* 27 is suitably cupped out or recessed `in order that a minimum amount oi stockV is required to be cut out ot the foot member 6.

It will thus be seen that a neat, and compact joint structure, of comparatively few parts, is provided for forming the pivotal connectionfbetween the leg and footV members, and that ample and broad bearing sur-` faces are provided for the `pivot elements, by the provision Vof the pair of sleeves 10 and V,11 arranged co-axially for practically the entire distance across the toot member. The space within the sleeve 11 further en* ables an adequate supply ot lubricant to be maintained for thoroughly oiling the bearing surfaces of the joint. It may also be pointed out that Vthe intermediate portion of the sleeve 10 within which is formed the abovel described recess 19 is enlarged in size as 'clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and accommodated*within recesses provided for that purpose within both of said members 6 and 7, which feature ot'V construction insures effectively against any tendency toward lateral shitting movements of the joint parts relatively to the members 6 and The parts vot the pivotal connection are readily assembled, in a convenient manner, the sleeves 10 and 11 being itted together in the relation shown before one or the other of the members 6 and T is attached to its bolt element. This'assembly is effected by introducing the head of the bolt 17 Within the recess 19 and then inserting the sleeve 11 into the sleeve 1() through the eye of said head member 18, the keyway 21 of the sleeve 11 affording 'clearance for the key 2O until the latter becomes seated Within the inner' end of said keyway 21. After this the plugs 25 are fitted into the opposite ends of the sleeve 10, and the other member 6 or 7 is applied toits bolt and secured thereto. The construction described is simple and etlicient, affording all the necessary pivotal movements required of a joint oi this character, and allowing an easy and noiseless action, due to the broad bearing surfaces of the pivotal Vportions. or" lthe joint and the constant lubrication of said surfaces.

While I have illustrated and described what is now deemed to constitute the pre` erred Jform oi construction, l desire to rcserve the right to lmake such changes as may fairly i'all within the scope of the following claims.

That I claim is:

1. An ankle joint Astructure for artificial limbs comprising leg and foot members, a sleeve provided with means for iixedly securing the same to one of said members, and a second sleeve journaled within said first sleeve, and a bolt secured to the other of said members and formed 'with an eye portion encircling said seccndasleeve, said eye portion ci the bolt having an internal key element and said second sleeve being formed with a. longitudinal open keyway permitting insertion of saidsecond sleeve within said irst sleeve into keyed relation to the eye f portion of said bolt.

2. An ankle joint structure cr'artiticial limbs comprising leg and foot members, a'

sleeve formed with an intermediate transverse recess and provided with means for ixedly securing said sleeve to one of said 1nenibers,a second sleeve journaled within said first sleeve and provided with a bolt element secured to the other of said nicmbers, said bolt having a head portion encircling said secondV sleeve and keyed thereto Within said recess, and-plugs secured in the ends of the first-named sleeve and forming closures for said second sleeve. Y

In Witness whereof I hereto ailix my signature.

MIL() E. RICE. 

